Job Opportunities at Urban Sprouts

GARDEN EDUCATOR (part-time)

What is Urban Sprouts?
Urban Sprouts is a school garden organization that serves low-income youth from San Francisco’s under-served neighborhoods. We teach youth to grow, harvest, prepare and eat vegetables from the school garden in order to help youth become more engaged in school, eat better, exercise more, and connect with the environment and each other.

Urban Sprouts uses garden-based education to:
• Improve students' learning in science and their ecoliteracy (environmental awareness and responsibility)
• Improve students' nutrition and physical fitness
• Build community involvement within urban schools.
• Help youth and their families take action to improve food access and environmental justice in their communities.

Each year we work with over 700 youth at five San Francisco public schools: Aptos Middle School, Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School, International Studies Academy, June Jordan School for Equity and Ida B. Wells Continuation High School.

Job Description
Urban Sprouts’ Garden Educators facilitate our core garden-based education curriculum. The Educator will facilitate primarily high school and some middle school science classes, combining environmental science education, nutrition education, hands-on experiences in the school garden (planting, tending, harvesting and cooking), and youth development principles. The Garden Educator co-teaches with the classroom teacher and mentors the teacher in outdoor classroom management techniques. The Garden Educator builds involvement in and commitment to the school garden within the school community, including teachers, administrators, students, parents and community volunteers, by collaborating with Urban Sprouts’ Program Manager. The Garden Educator will also support a group of student leaders to engage in garden-related action projects through after school or extra-curricular programming.

Job Responsibilities
• Facilitate 3-4 garden-based education classes per day two to three days each week;
• Prepare for each lesson by gathering supplies, worksheets, and reviewing each lesson plan;
• Manage the school garden, plan and prepare for garden work activities, manage cropping schedule, prepare for availability of tools and other necessary materials.
• Participate in biweekly staff meetings, which include professional support, collaborative curriculum planning, and completing reporting paperwork.
• Coordinate Garden Party Work Days in collaboration with the Family and Volunteer Programs Manager. Garden Party Work Days bring students, families, teachers and community members together to work and celebrate in the garden on a Saturday.
• Coordinate school-wide events such as Salad Days, in which students prepare and serve garden-grown salad for the entire school at lunch.
• Supervise classroom volunteers who assist with garden work activities.
• Meet with each teacher on a monthly basis for assessment and coaching.
• Monitor, document and report on all activities and extent of student and teacher participation to Executive Director.

Desired Skills and Experience
• At least 2-3 years of facilitation or teaching experience with youth aged 11-17; outdoor group management experience preferred.
• Knowledge and skills in small-scale organic food production or home gardening.
• Knowledge of or interest in topics including urban gardening, botany, environmental science, health and nutrition, food systems, food access, urban schools and social justice.
• A Bachelor’s degree or equivalent preferred.
• Bilingual and/or bi-cultural preferred (languages include Spanish, Tagalog, Cantonese).
• Demonstrated ability to work with diverse populations including youth and adults.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, including public speaking skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively and independently, flexible, enthusiastic, creative thinker.

This is a part-time position working 20-25 hours per week, $18-20 per hour DOE, during the 10-month school year, with summer work as a possibility.

To Apply
Please send a resume and cover letter via email to Abby Jaramillo, Executive Director, at abby AT urbansprouts DOT org or by mail to 326 Prospect Ave, San Francisco, CA 94110. For more information, visit our blog and website.